Vegetarian!

2»

Replies

  • KezJB
    KezJB Posts: 33 Member
    I'm veggie, have been for four years, now I'm better at using alternatives think it might aid my weight loss, but initially I put on weight as found I was eating a lot of cheese, especially eating out.

    Edited to add I eat locally sourced free range eggs (only satisfied if I can see happy hens!) and also locally sourced honey - basically if it's from someone's back yard I'm quite happy with that.

    I don't eat any meat, gelatin, fish oil etc.
  • KezJB
    KezJB Posts: 33 Member
    I've been a vegetarian for 5 or 6 years :) Best decision I've ever made. I quit cold turkey (no pun intended) one day on a whim and haven't looked back. I'm starting to transition to vegan though its a bit tougher. Good luck to you :)

    That;s exactly what I did, I said that was it and it was.

    I'd like to be vegan but think it would be too restricting, I'm not a fan of the diary industry, but as a wheat intolerant veggie I also want to have a life and enjoy food socially.

    Good luck with your vegan transition.
  • bajoyba
    bajoyba Posts: 1,153 Member
    just tossing this out there:

    being vegetarian isn't going to necessarily be the reason that you lose weight. Nor is being vegan, or Pizzatarian.

    If you're under your tdee, you lose weight.

    That said, I applaud you guys for making a decision and sticking to it, just giving the OP a note that losing weight and being veg*n exist outside of one another.

    I want to echo this sentiment.

    I've been a lacto-ovo vegetarian for almost 5 years now. I also quit "cold turkey" and never looked back. I made that decision for personal ethical reasons, because I just didn't feel right eating meat anymore and sometimes found it unpalatable anyway.

    BUT I also gained weight as a vegetarian. I didn't weigh myself back then, but if I had to guess, I'd say I gained about 20 pounds in 3 years.

    I applaud anyone who makes the decision to go vegetarian or vegan. It's a major lifestyle and dietary change; it isn't always a convenient or easy transition, and it takes a certain amount of personal discipline. I love being a vegetarian. But it doesn't necessarily result weight loss, and it can sometimes cause the opposite.

    Gaining weight as a vegetarian was very easy to do, but luckily, losing weight as a vegetarian was pretty easy as well!
    The key to losing weight is always a calorie deficit, which can be applied to any lifestyle or way of eating. :smile:
  • AliceDark
    AliceDark Posts: 3,886 Member
    I've been veg since I was 11, and I've been pretty much every variety (vegan, lacto-only, ovo/lacto). I'm currently ovo/lacto and am really happy with my current diet. Feel free to add me :flowerforyou:

    I am going to caution you (and any other new vegetarians) that you HAVE to pay attention to your macros! I've known a lot of people who went veg and gained tons of weight because they replaced meat with more carbs. Meat substitutes don't have the same nutritional profile as meat, so you have to look at the nutritional profile of the food and not just the role it occupies in the meal. A good example would be just substituting a burger for a portobello mushroom -- the portobello is taking the place of the meat but you're not getting the protein. Do that often enough without adjusting, and you'll throw your macro balance completely out of whack. It's not difficult to get enough protein on a vegetarian diet, but you absolutely have to make it a priority.